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Salt Fork River Watershed
Water Quality Monitoring Subcommittee

Various locations on the Upper Salt Fork during high flow (September 16, 2008). All photos by Corey Mitchell.

See links under Sampling Sites for more photos.

In May 2007, with funding provided by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, with additional assistance provided by the Salt Fork Technical Advisory Committee, USDA-NRCS, and Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, a watershed implementation plan was finalized for the Upper Salt Fork of the Vermilion River, in Champaign and Vermilion Counties, Illinois. This followed 16 years of meetings and debate about the watershed, including a TMDL report, which led to the comprehensive plan. An implementation committee was then formed to carryout the plan, which is now active. The Salt Fork Project River Watershed Implementation Committee is a sub-committee of the Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District, and meets about five times per year, with various subcommittees active in working to improve the watershed.

In developing the implementation plan, the mission of the Salt Fork Steering Committee was to develop a scientifically-sound strategy to implement cost-effective practices and educational programs sufficient to ensure that all waters of the Salt Fork will meet the needs of future generations. In so doing, the Committee recognized the role of the Salt Fork in the ecosystem, the economy, recreational activities, and local livelihoods and will recommend actions that protect and enhance these functions.

This web site is focused on the water quality data being collected on the watershed by the water quality monitoring subcommittee, chaired by Tim Bachman. Currently, seven stream stations are being monitored along the Upper Salt Fork River. The sampling is conducted on a bi-weekly basis by the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences (NRES) biogeochemistry group. Analysis of the water samples is conducted by both the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District and UIUC. In addition, dissolved oxygen and temperature was measured every 15 minutes at the USGS gaging station location (just north of St. Joseph, Illinois), by UIUC NRES during 2008 and then again from 2010 on. There is also a USGS gaging station below the UCSD plant in Urbana on the Saline Branch.

As new water quality data are available, they are summarized on the data summary page. For further information or if you have questions, please contact Mark David (217-333-4308) at the University of Illinois.

Last modified February 26, 2013